TOLEDO – As far as Brian Matson was concerned, he hit the theatrical jackpot when he found out he had earned the role of Robbie in the musical version of The Wedding Singer, the 1998 rom-com movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
“I was extremely excited,” said Matson, 26. “I thought I had a shot, but I definitely wasn’t sure. People at the auditions were talented, and I was just happy to get invited to the production, no matter what the role was. I was excited to work with this production team and the theater company.”
The movie, set in 1985, follows Robbie Hart, New Jersey’s favorite wedding singer and a rock-star wannabe. Life is good until he’s left at the alter by his fiancee. Heartbroken, Robbie spirals, turning every wedding gig into a hilarious disaster.
Enter Julia, who works as a waitress where Robbie performs. She begins to restore his faith in love, but there’s one problem: she’s engaged to a slick Wall Street shark. Now, Robbie must pull off the performance of a lifetime to win the girl of his dreams before it’s too late.
The Wedding Singer: The Musical Comedy will be performed June 12-21 at The Village Players Theatre located at 2740 Upton Ave. in Toledo. Shows will be held Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The production promises to bring “big hair, bigger laughs and non-stop 1980s nostalgia to the stage.”
A Wedding Singer musical was performed on Broadway, for 284 performances and 30 previews, from late April through Dec. 31 2006.
Riley Runnells is the choreographer for The Wedding Singer: The Musical Comedy. The Sylvania Northview and 2022 Ohio University graduate started acting at age 4 and got her first gig as a choreographer in 2024 for the musical Seussical, based on the Dr. Seuss books.
“I’ve always loved theater and dance,” Runnells said. “I was on the dance team at Ohio University, and when I came back here, I had a friend who asked if if wanted to choreograph Seussical. The Wedding Singer will be my 15th show as a choreographer.”
Runnells said director Nicole Tuttle-Robb assembled a team for the musical last summer and rehearsals began in late March.
“This show is really involved and has lots of moving parts, and there’s lots of fun stuff going on,” Runnells said. “It has lots of ‘80s influence. The musical is a fun production, and everyone has worked hard to bring this show to life.”
Runnells said the musical has 20 songs, 12 of which are choreographed.
“The movie has a similar plot, but the musical has its own songs written for it,” she said. “Some songs overlap, like ‘Somebody Kill Me,’ but the composer put together a full soundtrack of songs for these characters based on the story. The script is really well written.”
Tuttle-Robb, 30, said The Wedding Singer is her favorite Adam Sandler movie. She added that the production team -which includes Runnells – music director Kelly Frailly, stage managers Jennifer Dorrell and Eddie Bozanich, and intimacy director Jai Long, has assembled a cast whose talent is “mind-blowing.”
The initial cast read-through for the musical was April 1.
“I was so nervous we weren’t going to get enough people,” Tuttle-Robb said. “The theater community in Toledo is so rich with theaters and companies in the area; we needed 19 people to make this show work. It turned out there was no reason for me to be nervous.
“They are wonderful collaborators. This cast…I could go on and on, and they are truly the best cast I have ever worked with. Our team is creating it all from scratch – designs for lighting, sets, props, everything.”
Matson, who played baritone in the University of Toledo marching band, said he performed theater back in high school before taking a break.
“I got back into theater beginning in 2024,” he said. “I had done it through 2018 and stopped for about six years and then got back into the local theater scene. I definitely missed it a lot.”
Matson was asked how he wanted to portray Sandler’s character, Robbie, in the local musical version.
“I wanted to take some inspiration from the original source material, Adam Sandler,” he said. “I grew up watching a handful of his movies. That was one of the things that made me interested in the first place. I wanted to have the typical Sandler energy but bring a nice groundedness to it.
“There are a lot more scenes that are like genuine moments between Robbie and Julia. I play a little acoustic guitar, so I’m excited to bring it into the show. We are playing some acoustic guitar to flush out the character and make it my own.”
Matson said he knew of Cassidy Anderson, who plays Julia, but has never worked with her.
“I knew she was in a show at a theater company I worked with last year,” Matson said. “We get along really well at rehearsals – good vibes and good energy.”
Tuttle-Robb said this specific production “is going to be really unique,” in part because of the smaller [165-seat], intimate Village Players Theatre.
“We don’t have a large space,” she said. “Back stage is pretty tiny. We decided we were going to make this campy and lean into the comedy of this. We’re doing things that are born out of necessity, but they are fun, interesting ways to do things that other theaters may not have tried.
“We’re hosting an ‘80s costume contest encouraging the audience to come to the show in a costume to win a prize,” Tuttle-Robb added. “The audience can expect an ‘80s flashback, where we tried to capture a lot of nostalgia from the 1980s.”
For tickets to The Wedding Singer: The Musical Comedy call 419-472-6817. Tickets are also sold at the door, but the Theatre cannot guarantee seats will be available.
